Man Dies at California Beach After Sand Hole Collapses

Emergency crews and volunteers working to rescue Adam Pye from a sand hole at Francis State Beach in Half Moon Bay, California

Dean Coppola/Half Moon Bay Review/AP

By Associated Press

updated07/23/2014 AT 11:40 AM EDT

•originally published07/23/2014 AT 10:55 AM EDT

A young man died after a hole he dug on a Northern California beach collapsed and trapped him in the sand for at least five minutes, authorities said Tuesday.

The man dug a roughly 10-foot-deep hole at Francis State Beach and was standing in it around 5:30 p.m. Monday when the sand started caving in around him, California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection Capt. Jonathan Cox said.

About 30 people, including the man's friends and bystanders, frantically dug with their hands, buckets and other improvised tools to expose his head. They were able to free his head in about five minutes, just as firefighters arrived at the scene, Cox said.